'Caught Stealing' review: Austin Butler is in peril in Darren Aronofsky's crime thriller

Sony Pictures

Have you ever found yourself in a cat-astrophic situation? Austin Butler's character Hank Thompson knows all about that when it comes to his journey in Caught Stealing. Adapted by Charlie Huston from his own novel of the same name, the crime thriller drama follows Hank who is a former baseball prodigy and current bartender living in New York City. When his neighbour Russ (Matt Smith) leaves for London and gives him a cat to look after, Hank and his lover Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz) suddenly find themselves in danger when two Russian mobsters (Nikita Kukushkin and Yuri Kolokolnikov as Pavel and Aleksei respectively) show up looking for something they allege Russ has stolen and hid.

This precarious situation escalates and violence ensues, calling the attention of detective Elise Roman (Regina King), the mobster duo's Puerto Rican accomplice "Colorado" (Benito Martínez Ocasio) as well as a pair of Hasidic thugs, Lipa (Liev Schreiber) and Shmully Drucker (Vincent D'Onofrio).

Based on the movie's presentation and overall style, you wouldn't necessarily guess that it's directed by Darren Aronofsky if you were to go in blind. In that sense, it's rather exciting to see an established filmmaker flexing new muscles and trying different things throughout the 100-minute runtime. Some of it is successful in terms of craft on display, but unfortunately, Aronofsky and Huston struggle to both maintain a distinct tone and also control the shifts in a way that doesn't feel jarring. Caught Stealing's relationship with violence becomes a headache in particular as it tends to range from manipulative to distasteful. It's often used only as a plot point that would get Hank from one place to another, or it's undercut by bursts of comedy that doesn't land whatsoever. After tolerating it for 30 minutes or so, you're ready to be done with it all.

The helmer does find moments of compelling drama with his cast (assembled by casting director Mary Vernieu), which is probably the biggest reason why people would try to weather the unevenness, and the main attraction here is luckily the one who has the most screen time. Butler is asked to do quite a lot for such a straightforward thriller and he delivers in every aspect—the actor's eyes convey Hank's brokenness, there's a lack of vanity when it comes to appearance and mostly Butler gets to shine with his natural movie star charisma. From the supporting players, Kravitz, Martínez and Smith also manage to liven things up whenever they're on screen, adding sex appeal, danger and zip into the mix—plus the cat knows how to steal the spotlight.

Composer Rob Simonsen's score, performed by Idles, meets the aforementioned actors' energy with its punk flavour that is unusual in cinema, but otherwise the film is missing enthusiasm. A mishmash of stereotypes, mostly forgettable action set pieces, side quests and pointless flashbacks make for a story that doesn't have the juice, as they say. Also, it's not exactly smart to have so much dialogue about the most boring sport in the world if you want your movie to be interesting. (Drinking yourself to an early grave sounds great as long as you don't have to hear about Giants or Tinies or whoever anymore.) There are flashes of excitement, again, thanks to the actors, but you need more than that. And considering the talent involved, Caught Stealing is a significant letdown.

Smileys: Austin Butler

Frowneys: Tone, story

Hank may be done with baseball, but he sure can get to third base still.

2.5/5

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